Sunless tanners are products applied to the skin to provide a tan appearance, without exposure to the sun or other radiant energy sources, e.g. tanning beds and ulta-violet lamps. For optimum performance, sunless tanners should be applied evenly to provide a smooth, uniform tan over the skin surface. Unfortunately, a sunless tanner may be applied unevenly because it is difficult to see or visualize after being applied to the skin. Uneven applications may result in a cosmetically unattractive tan having streaks and/or spots. Further, once the sunless tanner is applied to the skin, the tan produced cannot be washed off since the tan is bound to the skin, and the user may need to wait one to two weeks for the uneven tan to wear off. Accordingly, an approach was sought to provide a sunless tanning emulsion which could be readily visualized and thus applied more evenly to the skin, yet would substantially disappear when dried and/or rubbed out on the skin.